There was a problem.
The two were planning to follow the road up to the mountain pass and then over it, getting as far away from the scene of the massacre as they could before the night came. However, the road was no more.
At some point during the last months, or maybe even just yesterday, a terrible rockfall occurred, obliterating whole segments of the narrow roadway and making its other parts untraversable. Sunny stood on the precipice of a vast chasm, looking down with no particular expression on his face.
"What do we do now?"
Sunny was genuinely confused until a familiar voice spoke up and it was definitely not Hero.
"Actually, in the old days, there used to be a path leading to the peak of the mountain. It was sometimes used by pilgrims. Later, the Empire had widened parts of the path and built a proper road on top of it — now leading to the mountain pass instead of the peak, of course."
He looked up.
"The remnants of the original path should still be somewhere above us. If we reach it, we should be able to find our way back to the undamaged section of the road."
Sunny looked at scholar bewildered and behind him was shifty?!
"What the fuck how are you two alive i saw the two of you get your heads crushed?"
The two laughed for a good second before scholar finally spoke:
"Ahh, the two slaves with the soldier those two weren't us we actually hid inside the slave van and we hundled up together with many pieces of cloth to warm us."
Sunny could have swore he saw those two die but then again other slaves looked alike and well the heads of the body were crushed until unrecognizable.
(Definitely didn't make them alive because i didn't know how to progress the story lmao.)
"Well what are we waiting for?"
Everyone followed his gaze, shifting uncomfortably at the prospect of climbing the treacherous slope. Except for Sunny, of course, who remained as calm as a saint or as calm as madman could.
Due to the rockfall, the slope wasn't an almost vertical wall anymore, but still, the incline was quite sharp.
Shifty was the first one to speak:
"Climb that? Are you insane?"
Scholar helplessly shrugged.
"Do you have a better idea?"
No one did. After a bit of preparation, they began the ascent. Shifty and Scholar stubbornly carried the weapons they had picked up off the dead soldier's bodies, but Sunny,continued to carry his new found short sword he found while grave digging. He knew that this climb was going to test the limits of their endurance but sunny had all the endurance and more.
Sunny was bored after half an hour and he could see the other two slaves were somewhat tired.
"Do you guys want to drink let's stop here for now."
They looked at sunny and sat down while sunny was getting flasks and giving it to them after ten minutes of rest they started walking up again.
Clenching his teeth, Sunny continued to move forward and up. He had to constantly remind himself to watch his footing, too. On this unstable, icy slope one misstep was enough to send a man tumbling down to his death.
'Just think about something pleasant,' he thought.
But what happy thoughts could he summon?
Failing to come up with something else, Sunny began to imagine what reward he was going to receive at the end of this trial. The boon of the First Nightmare was the most important thing given to an Awakened by the Spell.
Sure, later trials could provide them with more abilities and vastly improve their power. But it was this first one that determined what role an Awakened would be able to play, how great their potential would be, and what price they would have to pay… not to mention giving them the necessary tools to survive and grow in the Dream Realm.
The main benefit of the First Nightmare's Boon was simple, yet possibly the most important: after completing their trial, Aspirants were bestowed with the ability to perceive, and interact with, Soul Cores. Soul Cores were the basis of one's rank and power. The stronger your Core was, the greater your might would grow.
The same went for Nightmare Creatures, with a deadly caveat that, unlike humans, they could possess multiple cores — a lowly beast had just one and humans could only have one soul core. Coincidentally, the only way to improve your Soul Core was to consume Soul Shards scavenged from the corpses of other Dream Realm inhabitants.
That's why Awakened went out of their way to battle powerful Nightmare Creatures despite the risk of death.
The second benefit was less straightforward, but nevertheless vital. After completing the First Nightmare, Aspirants were elevated to the rank of Dreamers — colloquially known as Sleepers — and gained access to the Dream Realm itself. They would enter it on the first winter solstice after passing the trial and remain there until an exit was found, thus becoming fully Awakened. That time between finishing the First Nightmare and entering the Dream Realm was very important, as it was the last chance to train and prepare yourself a person would receive.
In Sunny's case, that time was only about a month, which was as bad as it gets.
And then there was the final benefit, unique to every Aspirant passing the trial… the first Aspect Ability.
This was the "magic power" that elevated Awakened above mundane humans. Aspect Abilities were diverse, unique, and powerful. Some could be categorized into types — like combat, sorcery and utility — but some were simply beyond imagination. Armed with the power of their Abilities, Awakened had been able to save the world from the flood of Nightmare Creatures.
However, that power came with a catch. With their first Ability, every Awakened also received a Flaw, sometimes called the counter. These Flaws were as diverse as Abilities, ranging from comparatively harmless to crippling, or, in some cases, even fatal.
'I wonder what type of Ability a temple slave would get,' Sunny thought, not too optimistic about his prospects. 'The choice of Flaws, on the other hand, seems to be almost limitless. Let's hope my Aspect will evolve at the end of this fiasco. Or, even better, change completely.'
If the Aspirant performed especially well, there was a chance of his given Aspect going through an early evolution. Aspects, just like Soul Cores, had ranks based on potential power and rarity. The lowest rank was called Dormant, followed by Awakened, Ascended, Transcendent, Supreme, Sacred and Divine — although no one has ever seen the last one.
'With the amount of crap it had put me through, the Spell — if it has any conscience — has to give me at least an Sacred Aspect. Right? Or maybe even an Divine aspect! And a true name because if i don't get none of those the spell is the most unfair creation to ever exist!'
Finally, there was a tiny possibility of receiving a True Name — something like an honorary title bestowed by the Spell to its favorite Awakened. The name itself had no benefit, but every famous Awakened seemed to have one. It was considered to be the highest mark of excellence. However, the number of people who had managed to get a True Name during their First Nightmare was so small that Sunny almost didn't bother thinking about getting one but after this struggle he definitely deserved getting one!
'I need Excellence! And power! I deserve every single one!'
Sunny was obviously not joking i mean who has heard of an aspirant dealing with seven awakened tyrant's, two awakened terror's and one awakened titan that was un — heard of not once in history!
'Maybe im allergic to having good luck.'
An allergy like that would be truly ironic, considering that he was destined to spend half of his remaining life in the Dream Realm — if he even survives long enough to get there, that is.
However, Sunny's mental escapade was not completely useless. Looking up from the slippery rocks under his feet, he noticed that the sun was already considerably lower. Come to think of it, the air also seemed to be much colder.
'At least it helped me pass the time,'
Sunny thought.
The night was approaching.
By the time they decided to stop, Everyone except for sunny was on the verge of fainting. After hours and hours of traversing the rough mountain slope, their body was almost at its limit but thankfully [ The Shadow] attribute adapted his body to endure it all. However, to everyone's surprise, Shifty seemed to be doing even worse than everyone else.
The roguish slave's eyes were muddy and unfocused, aimlessly wandering around. His breath was ragged and shallow, as though something was exerting pressure on his lungs. He looked feverish and unwell.
As soon as Hero found a suitable place for a camp, Shifty simply collapsed on the ground. The most unnerving part about all of this was the lack of angry cursing that they had already gotten used to. The slave lay silent and motionless, with only movements of his chest betraying that he was still alive. Several moments later, he uncorked his flagon with a shaky hand and greedily drank a few large gulps.
"Conserve your water," Hero said, a hint of concern somehow finding its way into his usually stoic voice.
"Yeah what he said you look like you really need it."
Disregarding these words, Shifty drank more, emptying the flagon completely.
Scholar didn't look much better than him. The arduous climb took a heavy toll on the older slave. Despite the unbearable cold, he was sweaty, with bloodshot eyes and a grim expression on his face.
"Shifty, you look pretty shitty."
Sunny said obviously trying to joke around but it looks like it just dimmed the mood.
"Can't we just melt the snow once there's no more water?"
Hero gave Scholar a complicated look.
"There might come a time when we won't be able to make a fire, as to not attract unwanted attention."
No one commented, knowing perfectly well whose attention they had to avoid.
Luckily, today Hero had managed to find a natural alcove in the mountain wall, perched precariously behind a narrow ledge. The fire was well hidden by the rocks, allowing them to enjoy its warmth without the fear of being noticed. No one was in the mood to talk, so they just roasted slices of oxen meat above the flames and ate in silence.
By the time the skies had turned completely black, Shifty and Scholar were already asleep, lost in the thrall of their own nightmares. Hero took out his sword and moved to the edge of the rock outcropping.
"Try to rest, as well. I'll take the first watch."
Sunny gave him a nod and lay down near the fire, dead tired. Falling asleep inside a dream was a new experience for him, but, unexpectedly, it turned out to be quite mundane, even though sunny didn't really need to sleep he was still mentally fatigue and believe or not his body was hurt beyond belief even though [The Shadow] attribute adapted him around the pain and that he was fully regenerated the pain was still there.
After what felt like only a second, someone had gently shaken him awake. Groggy and disoriented, Sunny blinked a few times, finally noticing Hero hovering above him.
"These two didn't look too well, so it's better to give them some time to recover. Don't let the flames go out and wake us up once the sun starts to rise. Or if… if the creature's appears."
Sunny silently rose and changed places with Hero, who added a couple of logs into the fire and was soon fast asleep.
For a few hours, he was on his own.
The skies were black, with dim stars and a sharp crescent of the newborn moon. However, its light was not enough to pierce the darkness that enveloped the mountain. Only Sunny's eyes seemed to be able to do so.
He sat quietly, looking down the way they came. Despite the fact that they had managed to climb quite high during the previous day, he could still see the distant ribbon of the road. He could even trace it back to the stone platform where the fight with the tyrant had taken place.
The tiny dots littering the stones were the dead bodies of the slaves and three massive one's were waking up.
They stayed motionless for a while and then they moved forward, the parents screeched loudly traveling to sunny but it was muffled from the intense wind but then suddenly sunny could promise they started eating them and the other dead soldiers.
The wind brought the muffled sounds of crunching bones to Sunny's ears. He flinched, accidentally pushing a small rock off the ledge. It fell, hit the slope and then rolled down, causing a few more to follow.
The noise of these falling rocks sounded like thunder in the silent night.
Far below, the creature's suddenly turned their heads, looking directly at Sunny.
Sunny froze, petrified. He was scared to make even the tiniest sound. For a while, he even forgot to breathe. The creature's were staring directly at him, not doing anything.
And then they looked away and continued eating but sunny remembered something.
'Right they are blind i forgot.'
***
At the break of dawn, Sunny had woken the others up. Hero had hoped that a full night's rest would do Shifty and Scholar some good, but his hopes were crushed. Somehow, the two slaves looked even worse than before. It was as though yesterday's climb had overstrained Scholar too much.
However, Shifty's condition could not be explained by simple overexertion. He was deadly pale and shaky, with half-conscious eyes and a lost look on his face.
"What's wrong with him?"
Scholar, who himself was not doing very well, helplessly shook his head.
"It might be the mountain sickness. It affects different people differently."
His voice sounded raspy and weak.
"I'm fine, assholes. Get out of my face."
Shifty had trouble forming full sentences, but still insisted that he was alright.
"Here guys drink some water you two look like you really need them."
The two took the flasks emptying it within a span of a couple seconds.
Hero frowned and then took most of the supplies the defiant slave was supposed to carry before adding them to his own load. After hesitating a little, he gave some to Sunny, too.
"Did anything happen while we were asleep?"
Sunny stared at him for a few seconds.
"The monster ate the dead."
The young soldier's frown deepened.
"How do you know?"
"I heard it."
Hero moved to the edge and looked down, trying to make out the distant stone platform. After a minute or so, he clenched his jaw, showing signs of uncertainty for the first time.
"Then we'll have to move faster. If the creature is finished with all the bodies, it will come for us next. We need to find that old path before nightfall."
They ventured out peeking at the two behind them seeing if their states are getting any better and to their surprise they looked even worse.
'Carrying two dead people are really hard.'
He thought.
They climbed higher, and higher, and higher. The sun was climbing with them, slowly approaching the zenith. There was no talking, no laughs, only strained breathing. Each of the four survivors was concentrated on their own steps and footing.
However, Shifty was falling farther and farther behind. His strength was abandoning him.
And then, at some point, Sunny heard a desperate scream. Turning around, he only had time to see a panic-stricken face. Then Shifty fell backward, his foot slipping on an ice-covered rock. He hit the ground hard and rolled down, still trying to grab onto something.
But it was too late.
Frozen in place and powerless, they could only watch as his body tumbled down the slope, leaving bloody marks on the rocks. With each second, Shifty looked less like a man and more like a rag doll.
A handful of moments later, he finally came to a halt, hitting the top of a large, protruding stone in a pile of broken flesh.
Shifty was dead.
Nobody could see it but if they could they would hear sunny laughing while saying "It worked" and they would see a dreadful smile behind that non — chalant and un — caring face of his.